Margaret Cho's Mom Inspires Her Latest Comedy

January 31, 2013|By ERIK OFGANG, Special To The Courant, The Hartford Courant

Comedian Margaret Cho says that growing up under the tutelage of a traditional Korean mother had its pros and cons.

"My mother did not prepare me for the world," she says, during a recent phone interview. "First, I was named the poetic Korean name, Moran, which was perfect for the kids at school to call me 'moron' and set me up for a good quarter- century of therapy. However, I can clean a fish with my bare hands."

Motherhood is the topic of Cho's no-holds-barred-thoroughly-unpolitically-correct new stand-up comedy show "Mother" which she'll be bringing to the Fox Theater at Foxwoods on Friday, Feb. 1, at 8 p.m. The show offers up an untraditional look at motherhood and examines the way society looks at maternal figures and strong women. The show is billed as Cho's edgiest to date and Cho promised real life observations on race, drugs, sexuality, celebrity, culture, and politics.

"Comedy for me is definitely more appealing when it's really honest and true," says Cho.

This show was inspired by Cho's long-suffering mother, Seung-Hoon Cho, and Cho's own experiences as a woman in her 40s.

"I wanted to do a show that was about my mother," she says, "but not just my mother. I'm in my 40s and people really expect women in their 40s to have that maternal side and I don't know if I necessarily do, but I think you can kind of be a parent to world.

Cho says that making good natured fun of her parents is something she learned to do early on in life.

"I've always talked about my family in my comedy. That's something I began doing when I was super young," she says. "I think that if you're Asian-American, or you're an immigrant, that part of becoming an American is finding ways to separate yourself from your family. My way of doing that was poking fun at my mom, and ever since a lot of my work has been built on that."

She adds that no matter how much she lampoons them on stage her family never gets angry about it.

"My family is always super excited about it," she says. "I'm pretty faithful to what happens and they can often appreciate stories that they recognize themselves in."

Born and raised in San Francisco, Cho got her start performing in the late '80s and '90s. She says that it took a little time for her to develop her no holds barred style.

"When I started I was into that sort of early '90s or late '80s observational style. We were all glued to what Seinfeld was doing," she says. "Later on I was more influenced by what was happening in alternative comedy and comics who were talking about emotions in a way that was less structured. Ultimately I got more into the alternative kind of comedy."

Alternative comedy worked well for Cho who has been a force in the industry for more than two decades. Recently she was nominated for an Emmy award for "Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series" for her cross gender stint on "30 Rock" as North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. She also stars in Lifetime's hit series, "Drop Dead Diva" and has earned two Grammy nominations for her comedy albums. She currently splits her time between Los Angeles and Atlanta where "Drop Dead Diva" is filmed.

In addition to her comedy career Cho is outspoken about race and sexuality and in June of 2011 she was honored by L.A. Pride, receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award recognizing her as an individual whose lifetime body of work has left a lasting major imprint on the LGBT community. On her website margaretcho.com she shares her views on gay rights and other life issues in a regularly updated blog that is sometimes funny, and oftentimes thoughtful.

"My blog is really about commenting on what's going on, it's about things that I find really effecting," she says. "I tend to write about current events and things that are difficult. That's sort of what my blog is for just to express all those different kinds of ideas that I wouldn't necessarily get to express in comedy."

Even though she's been doing it for decades she says her parents are still confused by the world of stand-up comedy.

"They don't really get it," she says, "but they love that I'm happy doing it and that I'm a successful comedian."

MARGARET CHO will perform on Friday, Feb. 1, at 8 p.m. at the Fox Theater at Foxwoods at 39 Norwich Road, Ledyard. Tickets range from $30 to $50. Information: 860-312-6649 and http://www.comixatfoxwoods.com.